This invention relates generally to motion picture taking systems and, more particularly, to systems which utilize a plurality of separate film transparency units as opposed to utilizing continuous reels of film therefor.
Present day motion picture taking and projection systems utilize continuous reels of film in which a plurality of sequentially produced images are vertically positioned along a continuous film roll during the picture taking process, reels of 50 feet, 100 feet, 500 feet, 1,000 feet, etc. being utilized to store such rolls of film images. During projection, each of the sequentially filmed image transparencies are intermittently projected via an appropriate projection system at a rate which provides a substantially continuous motion of the projected image on a screen.
A problem in such conventional motion picture systems lies in the difficulty in evaluating a scene which has been taken until the entire film roll has been utilized and developed for projection. Even where substantially instantaneous development can be achieved, such evaluation must often await the projection of a significant portion of a film roll containing a large number of different scenes before a particular scene can be looked at for such evaluation.
It is desirable, therefore, to design a motion picture taking system in which scenes of average length (e.g., the time of an average scene is often about 10-15 seconds) can be more easily evaluated without having to review other scenes of no particular interest at the time. Such a design should also make it possible to view such relatively short scenes substantially immediately after taking, either in transparency form or in projected form.
One approach to such a problem which has been suggested in the past is to form a plurality of sequentially produced images on a relatively larger transparency film unit, or plate. An entire motion picture can be obtained by providing a plurality of such plates for sequential use in taking or projecting. Such systems have not found favor because the format of such sequentially produced images on the plate and the mechanisms for producing such format have not been acceptable in terms of the size or capability thereof to produce effective motion picture image projection.
For example, some techniques have suggested the use of a fixed lens system coupled with a movable plate, the latter being capable of movement in two orthogonal directions so that the multiple images are placed thereon in parallel rows. Since the plate must move from one side to the other as it passes adjacent the lens system, the camera housing must be at least twice the width of the plate itself and, hence, the size of the camera has become so unwieldy that its use is awkward and undesirable. Other suggested techniques using a substantially fixed optics system have required the photographic plate to be moved in a spiral or ring configuration which requires rather complex mechanical structures for guiding the plate movement in the correct direction.
Still other suggestions have involved the use of systems where both the plate and the optics system move, the plate normally moving in a first direction and the optics moving in an orthogonal direction. In such cases the plate remains in a fixed position while the lens system, in effect, scans the plate in a fixed linear direction orthogonal to the plate's motion, the plate moving forward between each orthogonal scan so that parallel rows of images are obtained. At the end of each lateral orthogonal scan the optics system is required either to fly back rapidly to its initial position for the next scan or to scan in the opposite direction for alternate rows of images. Placing the images on the film in parallel rows utilizing a moving lens axis, the translational motion of the lens being either perpendicular or parallel to the lens viewing axis, tends to cause an uncomfortable illusion of rhythmic camera motion when viewed. Moreover, the lens axis in either case (whether the lens axis is parallel or perpendicular to the optics system motion) changes position with respect to the scene being taken.
In view of such problems, it is desirable to design a system utilizing a plurality of film transparency units, each of which has multiple images thereon, in which the camera, or picture taking unit, can be held to a reasonable size for handling during operation and for storage and in which the illusion of rhythmic camera motion in the subsequent projection of the motion picture can be avoided. Moreover, it is desirable that the lens axis being taken be maintained in a fixed position relative to the camera housing during the picture taking process so that the distance and direction to the subject being taken remains the same so long as the camera itself is not moved. Such a system should be further designed and packaged so that the cost thereof is within the reasonable reach of the consumer market.
Further, it is desirable that one or more scenes which are taken by the camera be capable of being viewed either as transparencies, as prints, or as projected images substantially immediately so that individual scenes or sequences thereof can be evaluated quickly and re-taken if desired, for example. Moreover, it is desirable that such a camera be useful for taking a large number of high resolution transparent still pictures on the same film card unit, or for use other than as a motion picture camera, if desired.